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Peer-reviewed articles DIGITAL ORTHODOXY A typology of non-institutionalized Ortho-blogs
Social media and the Internet have experienced a rapid development to which the religious factor has not remained indifferent. Religion has found ways to adapt to the online environment. This new online context has been thoroughly analyzed in relation to Christian denominations such as Catholics, Protestants and Neo-Protestant groups, yet we do not know much about how Orthodoxy has adapted online. While a few studies emphasize the presence of Ortho-bloggers in the online environment, we know very little about how they organize their activity in terms of structure, content, and purpose. This study addresses this gap in the literature by proposing a new approach to Ortho-blogging research. It describes the types of Orthodox religious blogs found within the typology of noninstitutionalized Ortho-blogs in the context of the Orthodox sphere in Romania. Romania has a large Orthodox population, a very active church at societal and political level and a good Internet infrastructure. In the analysis, several types of the Ortho-blog are highlighted in relation to structure, content, and purpose. This study carries an empirical significance for the study of online religious actors in general and Orthodox Christian actors in particular.
Published in the printed edition of Baltic Worlds BW:3-4, December 2022
Published on balticworlds.com on December 9, 2022
Abstract
Social media and the Internet have experienced a rapid development to which the religious factor has not remained indifferent. Religion has found ways to adapt to the online environment. This new online context has been thoroughly analyzed in relation to Christian denominations such as Catholics, Protestants and Neo-Protestant groups, yet we do not know much about how Orthodoxy has adapted online. While a few studies emphasize the presence of Ortho-bloggers in the online environment, we know very little about how they organize their activity in terms of structure, content, and purpose. This study addresses this gap in the literature by proposing a new approach to Ortho-blogging research. It describes the types of Orthodox religious blogs found within the typology of noninstitutionalized Ortho-blogs in the context of the Orthodox sphere in Romania. Romania has a large Orthodox population, a very active church at societal and political level and a good Internet infrastructure. In the analysis, several types of the Ortho-blog are highlighted in relation to structure, content, and purpose. This study carries an empirical significance for the study of online religious actors in general and Orthodox Christian actors in particular.
KEY WORDS: Internet, digital religion, orthodoxy, Ortho-blogs, Romania
Full-text is available in the pdf free to download. This is a pre-publishing online of the peer-reviewed article included in the December issue of Baltic Worlds 2022.
Reference: Dragoș Șamșudean, “Digital Orthodoxy. A typology of non-institutionalized Ortho-blogs”, Baltic Worlds, vol. XV no. 3-4 (2022), pp 92-102.